Massive waterfront Connecticut parcel sold for $58M

Descendants of industrialist William Ziegler offloaded an enormous waterfront parcel in Darien, Connecticut, after a second price compromise in a matter of months. 

The Ziegler descendants sold Ziegler Farm to an unknown buyer for $57.5 million, the Wall Street Journal reported. The 51-acre property off the Long Island Sound traded for more than $1 million per acre.

The property listed last year for $85 million, before ultimately taking a 32 percent hit in the final sale price.

The buyer in the deal is unknown and plans for the largely undeveloped parcel remain unclear. 

The only building on the farm is a cow barn, though there is approval in place to build up to 14 homes. The property also has a pair of paved roads and lines for water, electricity and sewage.

Leslie McElwreath and Joseph Barbieri of Sotheby’s International Realty had the listing. Outlook Realty’s Kristina Stewart represented the buyer.

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Ziegler Farm is adjacent to Great Island, a 60-acre parcel of largely undeveloped land off the state’s Gold Coast. The town of Darien closed on the parcel in spring, paying $85 million to close a deal that went into contract with a $100 million ask; the property was initially put up for sale in 2016 for $175 million.

The town wanted to protect the land from intensive development, but its plans for the property remain unclear. As soon as Dairen closed on the land, it launched plans to widen roads, create parking and address safety concerns.

Plans dating back to last year demonstrate Darien has floated everything from a museum to youth camps to pickleball and a community pool.

— Holden Walter-Warner